ISLAMABAD, Feb 16: Prices of fertilisers increased by 10.64 per cent in just a year and jumped from Rs479 to Rs530 per bag that skyrocketed the per acre cost of production and put extra burden on the already neglected farmers’ community.

Federal Agriculture Minister Sikandar Hayat Bosan informed the National Assembly in a written reply here on Friday that increase in the rates of fuel gas, feedstock and inflationary cost had forced the fertiliser companies to jack up the prices on six occasions during January 2006 to January 2007. The prices witnessed increase in January, April, July and December 2006 and January this year.

He said the government had started importing 500,000 tons urea fertilisers to meet the crops requirement on which it would pay Rs7bn subsidy.

In 2005-06, the government paid Rs9.575bn subsidy on the import of 700,000 tons urea fertiliser, he added.

In view of the large inventories and future production, subsidy on imports of fertilisers was only needed till December 2006 as it was sufficient for this Rabi season.

According to official figures, during October-November 2006, Fauji Fertiliser Company had imported 80,000 tons, Engro Chemicals Pakistan Ltd 83,000, Khalid Javaid & Brothers 25,000 tons and Engro Chemicals Pakistan Ltd 35,000 tons.

The Ministry of Finance, Auditor General of Pakistan Revenue (AGPR) and the State Bank of Pakistan (SB) will create a sub-head of government account under the federal government account No-1 for debiting the amount to be given as subsidy on the import of fertilisers to these companies.

The government lacks capacity to store the produce. Mr Bosan said that maximum requirement of provinces and Pakistan Agricultural Storages and Supply Corporation (Passco) is 5.858m tons compared to the storage capacity of 1.689m tons.

The minister said that the provincial food departments were trying their best to enhance the storage capacity. Punjab government had started construction of new steel silos in Islamabad, while Sindh had chalked out a comprehensive 10-year plan for the rehabilitation of all its godowns, he informed.

The ministry of food, agriculture and livestock (Minfal), he pointed out, was not considering any proposal to send a delegation of orange growers abroad. However, a delegation of kinoo growers visited Australia under the Pakistan-Australia Agriculture Sector Linkages Programme (ASLP) from May 9-20 2006.

Mr Bosan said Pakistani private sector imported 0.812m tons of wheat valuing Rs7.86bn from Australia, Russia and USA last year.

Some 2,612 tons of barely valuing Rs36 million were imported from Afghanistan, Australia, Brazil and China.

The oats import quantity was 8,922 tons valuing Rs131m from Afghanistan, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Myanmar, USA, UAE and UK. Some 1,582 tons of millet (Bajra) valuing Rs19.22m were imported from UAE, Egypt, Hungary, Iran, Myanmar, USA and Ukraine.